The Energon Pub

I've just seen the Takaras and bought a few of my own and I must say I'm generally disappointed. Unlike the first movie where you could be sure the Takaras had something different, DOTM and even ROTF seemed to simply be a matter of sticking a Takara label on the exact same figures.

1. Sideswipe
Confirmed: The same ugly paintjob. No silver paint

2. Crankcase
Looks the same. It's funny it seems that no one is willing to buy him in case he turns out to have his middle finger lopped off as well. So I can't say anything about whether he has his finger or not.

3. Deluxes generally
They look like they have the same paintjob, although my Roadbuster this time has a much better paint application than the Hasbro ones I've seen in store. Otherwise the only difference seems to be this collector card encased with each


4. Voyager Prime
I can't say if he looks very much different from the Hasbro version



I think some people were wondering about the colour of his blade. His blade is translucent orange.


His trailer seems pretty much good for nothing except as a collector's case of all the Mechtech weapons.


Again, it seems to me that just as with the ROTFs, the only thing different is some Japanese writing and labelling on the Takara versions. Except for Voyager Prime who's sufficiently different, my feeling is don't waste your money thinking you're getting something different or special.

Yes that's wad I'll do too, except the Jetwing Leader OP and that VOY OP, everything's the same, unless you got the Gift BB with the card holder and what's not, even so I don't see the cards worthing 30% more than Hasbro's one.

freaky777 wrote:Yes that's wad I'll do too, except the Jetwing Leader OP and that VOY OP, everything's the same, unless you got the Gift BB with the card holder and what's not, even so I don't see the cards worthing 30% more than Hasbro's one.

30%? Try 400% in the US. A deluxe at Wal-Mart is 9.88. Importing a Takara version is around $39.99. I'm only getting Voyager Prime (who's $100 at BBTS) and the three unique deluxes (Air Raid, Vortex, and Arcee) plus Jetwing, although I may save my money and just go after the Lottery Dark Jetwing.

I'll get the Takara Voyager OP because of the trailer, and probably the Leader class Jetwing OP. That's probably it.

Maybe I'm behind, way behind on the eight ball, but have you guys seen THIS review? Makes me completely rethink. I might get a Hasbro version to open. Amazing... what extra good points Takara giveth they taketh away in terms of good points the Hasbro had!

This is a review by reztoc, which answers lots of my questions

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sl8rLpNtg9o

What about Leader Sentinel Prime ? Has anyone ever seen the Takara version ?

I wonder if Leader Sentinel Prime ( and the other Leader toys by the way ) will get a better paint-job in the Takara version. Sometime ago it was posted that both Sentinel and Ironhide will be released as Movie Masterpieces. Does this news/rumor still hold ?

Xterminator wrote:What about Leader Sentinel Prime ? Has anyone ever seen the Takara version ?

I wonder if Leader Sentinel Prime ( and the other Leader toys by the way ) will get a better paint-job in the Takara version.

Yes I have it. Anything specific you wanted to know about it? As far as I could tell, the paintjob looks the same but then again, I didn't bother to look at the Hasbro Sentinels that just came out.

I got a feeling with all the crappyness that a lot of these DOTM figs suffered was a result of a cut in finances and those cuts went towards movie production. What really sucks is that one can't say..."well the movie was bad but the figs are awesome". And that's my 2 cents with no sense...'nuff said!

Nemesis Destron wrote:I got a feeling with all the crappyness that a lot of these DOTM figs suffered was a result of a cut in finances and those cuts went towards movie production. What really sucks is that one can't say..."well the movie was bad but the figs are awesome". And that's my 2 cents with no sense...'nuff said!

I take it you didn't get the memos with "Complaint: Transformers too difficult to transform. Possible result: decreased sales with next line"

It should be noted that the Leaders won't be released under the Darkside Moon line in Japan, rather they'll be Movie Masterpieces like Starscream and Battle Ops Bumblebee. Just letting you know

JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:

Nemesis Destron wrote:I got a feeling with all the crappyness that a lot of these DOTM figs suffered was a result of a cut in finances and those cuts went towards movie production. What really sucks is that one can't say..."well the movie was bad but the figs are awesome". And that's my 2 cents with no sense...'nuff said!

I take it you didn't get the memos with "Complaint: Transformers too difficult to transform. Possible result: decreased sales with next line"

It should be noted that the Leaders won't be released under the Darkside Moon line in Japan, rather they'll be Movie Masterpieces like Starscream and Battle Ops Bumblebee. Just letting you know

No. Leader class Sentinel Prime and BB are released in Japan under the DOTM line, paint apps are supposely the same with the mentioned bio card.

freaky777 wrote:

JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:

Nemesis Destron wrote:I got a feeling with all the crappyness that a lot of these DOTM figs suffered was a result of a cut in finances and those cuts went towards movie production. What really sucks is that one can't say..."well the movie was bad but the figs are awesome". And that's my 2 cents with no sense...'nuff said!

I take it you didn't get the memos with "Complaint: Transformers too difficult to transform. Possible result: decreased sales with next line"

It should be noted that the Leaders won't be released under the Darkside Moon line in Japan, rather they'll be Movie Masterpieces like Starscream and Battle Ops Bumblebee. Just letting you know

No. Leader class Sentinel Prime and BB are released in Japan under the DOTM line, paint apps are supposely the same with the mentioned bio card.

Seriously? Boy, do I have egg on my face then.

Bonecrusher27 wrote:

Xterminator wrote:What about Leader Sentinel Prime ? Has anyone ever seen the Takara version ?

I wonder if Leader Sentinel Prime ( and the other Leader toys by the way ) will get a better paint-job in the Takara version.

Yes I have it. Anything specific you wanted to know about it? As far as I could tell, the paintjob looks the same but then again, I didn't bother to look at the Hasbro Sentinels that just came out.

3 things ...

- Is the red color the same dull red as in the Hasbro one ? Is it painted or just the bare plastic ?
- Is the shield silver painted or just bare plastic ?
- More detailed paint-apps in his face ?

Thank for the info.

JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:

Nemesis Destron wrote:I got a feeling with all the crappyness that a lot of these DOTM figs suffered was a result of a cut in finances and those cuts went towards movie production. What really sucks is that one can't say..."well the movie was bad but the figs are awesome". And that's my 2 cents with no sense...'nuff said!

I take it you didn't get the memos with "Complaint: Transformers too difficult to transform. Possible result: decreased sales with next line"

It should be noted that the Leaders won't be released under the Darkside Moon line in Japan, rather they'll be Movie Masterpieces like Starscream and Battle Ops Bumblebee. Just letting you know

Is it really confirmed that the Leaders will be released as Movie Masterpieces ?
As far as I know the Leader Takara Jetwing OP is not part of the Movie Masterpiece sub-line.

Bonecrusher27 wrote:Maybe I'm behind, way behind on the eight ball, but have you guys seen THIS review? Makes me completely rethink. I might get a Hasbro version to open. Amazing... what extra good points Takara giveth they taketh away in terms of good points the Hasbro had!

This is a review by reztoc, which answers lots of my questions

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sl8rLpNtg9o

after seeing this im convinced that i will be sticking with my g1,g3, and ths convoys with trailer that was just sooooo dissapointing maybe someone will create a 3rd party roller and crane to attach to this un less they do its not even worth it.

nonetheless thanks for the link man i had no idea this review was out there

alternator77 wrote:nonetheless thanks for the link man i had no idea this review was out there

No prob! Me too. Reztoc's reviews are clear, his English is good and has a great speaking manner too! I'll be monitoring his channel with much interest!

I get enraged when I see that, while we pay probably a few bucks more for the Takara versions, you guys over there are paying Voyager prices and above for Takara Deluxes that are basically the same thing as the Hasbros! At least we get to SEE the toys before making a decision; most of you guys will be buying on faith. Not fair at all. If there were more real differences, such as in the first movie line, I'd think ok. What you're getting is just an extra card and a Takara sticker with Japanese writing. Ridiculous!

Xterminator wrote:3 things ...

- Is the red color the same dull red as in the Hasbro one ? Is it painted or just the bare plastic ?
- Is the shield silver painted or just bare plastic ?
- More detailed paint-apps in his face ?

Thank for the info.

Oops sorry missed this one.
1. I believe it's the same colour
2. I don't recall. Problem is I generally don't bother with the Mecthtech weapons and I don't know where they are now. And I don't care.
3. No I don't believe so.

One problem is I have not really bothered to even look at the Hasbro one in great detail. I just passed them by. This time round I was quite determined to just make a beeline for what I wanted, lest I do something stupid, like spend money I didn't plan to

I'll have a look again next time I get to a toystore. I only picked up Shockwave last night and there were no Sentinel Primes at all. Just Leader BB. which still looks fugly to me. Maybe someone else here has done the comparisons by now. But from what I could see, there really is NFD between Hasbro and Takara for the DOTM.

Bonecrusher27 wrote:

alternator77 wrote:nonetheless thanks for the link man i had no idea this review was out there

No prob! Me too. Reztoc's reviews are clear, his English is good and has a great speaking manner too! I'll be monitoring his channel with much interest!

I get enraged when I see that, while we pay probably a few bucks more for the Takara versions, you guys over there are paying Voyager prices and above for Takara Deluxes that are basically the same thing as the Hasbros! At least we get to SEE the toys before making a decision; most of you guys will be buying on faith. Not fair at all. If there were more real differences, such as in the first movie line, I'd think ok. What you're getting is just an extra card and a Takara sticker with Japanese writing. Ridiculous!

Holy crap....thanks Bonecrusher27 for sharing that dude, I'm still totally blown by that review. But I will say that I hope that poor guy simply got a really bad Prime with QC issues. But what a blow to fans for a Takara Tomy fig. So my dumb question is this a TT release only and we cannot expect Habro to put one out? The one thing I did notice was his rockets are different looking compared to the Hasbro version. F**K man I think we need to sit tight as things develope when more fans choose to gamble on this Prime...'nuff said!!

Bonecrusher27 wrote:

Xterminator wrote:3 things ...

- Is the red color the same dull red as in the Hasbro one ? Is it painted or just the bare plastic ?
- Is the shield silver painted or just bare plastic ?
- More detailed paint-apps in his face ?

Thank for the info.

Oops sorry missed this one.
1. I believe it's the same colour
2. I don't recall. Problem is I generally don't bother with the Mecthtech weapons and I don't know where they are now. And I don't care.
3. No I don't believe so.

One problem is I have not really bothered to even look at the Hasbro one in great detail. I just passed them by. This time round I was quite determined to just make a beeline for what I wanted, lest I do something stupid, like spend money I didn't plan to

I'll have a look again next time I get to a toystore. I only picked up Shockwave last night and there were no Sentinel Primes at all. Just Leader BB. which still looks fugly to me. Maybe someone else here has done the comparisons by now. But from what I could see, there really is NFD between Hasbro and Takara for the DOTM.

Thanks for the hits ! It seems makes no sense to spend extra $$$ on Takara-Tomy leaders this.

Unless, Takara is planning to re-release Sentinel as a Movie Masterpiece. Any info on that subject ?

Translucent Orange Win!

Xterminator wrote:quote]

Thanks for the hits ! It seems makes no sense to spend extra $$$ on Takara-Tomy leaders this.

Unless, Takara is planning to re-release Sentinel as a Movie Masterpiece. Any info on that subject ?

2012 release, my sources say.

Blurrz wrote:

Xterminator wrote:quote]

Thanks for the hits ! It seems makes no sense to spend extra $$$ on Takara-Tomy leaders this.

Unless, Takara is planning to re-release Sentinel as a Movie Masterpiece. Any info on that subject ?

2012 release, my sources say.

But why so late in 2012 ? Are they expecting everybody to buy Leader Class Sentinel and Ironhide in 2011, and then spend again twice the money to get the same toys repainted in 2012 ?

I don't understand this business model. If both versions (Leader and Masterpiece) were released on the same quarter, without doubt I would select and buy the one with better paint-apps (even with a 50% price increase). But I would never buy the Masterpiece edition after acquiring the regular Leader version. It's just too much money to have twice the same figure ...

REALLY REALLY looking for a Vortex, Air Raid and Jolt (zsolt)

please please PM me if you can hook me up!!!!!
Trade?cash?

Xterminator wrote:

Blurrz wrote:

Xterminator wrote:quote]

Thanks for the hits ! It seems makes no sense to spend extra $$$ on Takara-Tomy leaders this.

Unless, Takara is planning to re-release Sentinel as a Movie Masterpiece. Any info on that subject ?

2012 release, my sources say.

But why so late in 2012 ? Are they expecting everybody to buy Leader Class Sentinel and Ironhide in 2011, and then spend again twice the money to get the same toys repainted in 2012 ?

Actually yeah, Ironhide will be first in late 2011.

Blurrz wrote:
Actually yeah, Ironhide will be first in late 2011.

That's good news

I'll hold off buying the Hasbro version until we see some pics of the Takara one.

Takara versions are better